


his garden

by thevirginiatheater



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Depressing, One Shot, Sad, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 01:01:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29481117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thevirginiatheater/pseuds/thevirginiatheater
Summary: After the rumbling, Reiner starts a garden with what little time he has left.
Relationships: Gabi Braun/Falco Grice
Comments: 3
Kudos: 46





	his garden

After it all happened, there was nothing. There was barren wasteland for miles and miles. There was dirt and crushed bones and the splinters of wood. The only life left was them.

What they didn’t expect were the flowers. What died hadn’t stayed dead. After time passed and the rain came, up came small sprouts of green. Wildflowers bloomed in shades of purple, white, and yellow. It would’ve been nothing special in times past. But after what happened, it was a miracle. 

Reiner picked the flowers, plucked their seeds, kept them in his pocket like a secret. He planted them outside the cottage he built, the place he planned to die.

He thought he’d spend the rest of his life alone. Maybe that could be an atonement of some sort. Maybe in isolation he would find some shred of redemption. Maybe the blood on his hands would fade if he covered them in dirt.

Falco wouldn’t let him live alone. Even though he was so young, he was the best man he’d ever known.

The seasons changed and the garden grew. There was life there, honeybees that bounced between sprigs of lavender, dragonflies that danced between the daisies. It was his pride, his joy. It might have been the only thing he did right. He found solace in it. The only peace came in protecting every delicate petal, in taking care of every seed. 

But the ache in his hands became something he couldn’t ignore. He tried to hide it from Falco, but then the weeds grew.

“What’s happening to you?” he said, but he knew. He was a doomed man too. It loomed over them. The curse kept its watchful eye on them. 

He didn’t want to see anyone. They came anyways. He sat with them among the flowers, tuned out their words and heard only the hum of the bees.

When Annie came, she held a blonde haired boy wrapped in a blue blanket. He couldn’t decide if the look in her eyes was joy or torment. Perhaps it was both. 

“Have you decided what you’re going to do?”

She did not answer. She only cried.

Gabi moved in when the end was near. He had become a burden that needed to be carried by two. He wasn’t much use anymore. He sat huddled in a blanket his mother had knit for him. His hands were useless. The flowers grew anyways.

He wondered what would happen to them after he was gone. Eleven years would collapse into a singular point. Would they marry? Would she bear a child?. Would they find the bravery to be happy? 

The days turned into months. He watched them share their hopes and dreams over morning tea. He wished for their happiness. He wished that he could give every remaining moment he had to them. He wished for time, time, time.

He had no time left to give them.

On that morning, which came oh so quickly and oh so slow, death approached him like an old love. It was a sweet and tender kiss, over in an instant. They found him in his garden, cold and dead. It was the most peaceful he had looked in years.


End file.
